chaffetz. we'll see you tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m. "cnn newsroom" with carol costello beginning right now. >> thank you, soledad. good morning to all of you. stories we're watching right now in the newsroom. long lines for early voting in florida leads to chaos and anger. >> this is not cuba! this is not china! we cannot allow this to happen. >> one lawsuit already filed. a sign of things to come? superstorm sandy also affecting your vote. it's hard to get to the polls when you can't gas up your car. and rg3, the fabulous rookie, may have lost the game for the redskins, but he could have decided the election. have decided the election. "newsroom" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning, thank you so much for being with me. i'm carol costello.

just a warning, mitt romney will begin speaking any moment in sanford, florida. that's near orlandorlando. when mitt romney takes the mike we'll take you to florida live. on with the newscast. counting down and knotted up just hours before americans head to the polls, a presidential race that's too close to call. according to our new cnn/orc poll barack obama and mitt romney are tied at 49% among likely voters. today that has both men racing across key battleground states. here's a look at the rest of his day. as you can see in red, he then travels on to virginia, ohio and new hampshire. president obama in blue goes from wisconsin to all important ohio. and finally to iowa. we have cnn crews scattered across the country. these crucial last hours of campaigning. jim acosta is with the romney camp in sanford, florida. dan lothian is at the president's first stop in madison, wisconsin. gentlemen, we're going to ask you to read the tea leaves. two reasons for confidence at each camp and one reason for doubt.

so, jim, i'd like you to go first. romney's feeling good about his campaign's ground game. romney's people are also pegging a lot of hope on voter enthusiasm. please, expound. >> reporter: hi, carol. that's right. i talked to a senior romney adviser earlier this morn ing. they say their message today is going to be focused on those last few undecideds. that's where that ground operation comes into play. they know they're going to have to outperform the recent battleground state polls across a number of swing states showing that the gop nominee is trailing the president in places like virginia, in places like new hampshire. one came out in iowa yesterday. i was talking to the finance chair for this campaign over the weekend. i was asking him, why are we still seeing these fundraising appeals from the gop nominee going out to supporters? this is where the ground game is crucial. a lot of that money, he said, is going to be going to vans to round up voters and supporters and get them to the polls and to make sure volunteers are getting out in the neighborhoods,

canvassing areas where they know they are strong and making sure every door is knocked on to make sure every possible voter that might be leaning towards mitt romney can get to their voting place and cast a ballot for this gop nominee. at this point they know that they've got to prove the pollsters wrong. that means getting out the vote, carol. >> all right, dan lothian. we can't get to you because as you can see mitt romney has taken the stage. he's shaking hands with the former governor of florida, jeb bush. he's about to speak to a very lively crowd. thousands of people in attendance. let's listen. ♪ >> that is quite an orlando welcome. thank you so very much. what a way to start a day. this is fabulous. what a way to start an election. and i am -- i am so looking forward to getting the chance to work with senator connie mack.

you going to make that happen? and i also appreciate the great leadership of jeb bush, governor jeb bush, one of the best this country's ever known. thank you to governor scott for welcoming us here and lieutenant governor carol. thank you also to jeff atwater. as you know, jeff is the chief financial officer of the state. but he's been the co-chair of my effort here along with adam putnam who as you know is the commissioner of agriculture. appreciate their work. will weatherford, speaker of the house, has addressed here. i appreciate his support. senator mel martinez is here. appreciate mel being here. i think i've -- oh, i didn't mention congressman john. where's john? he's over here. hi there. it's quite a gathering today. this is -- it's quite a welcome that you provided me.

your voices -- your voices are not just heard in this hangar, they're being heard all over the nation. and even though -- even though ann is in a different city this morning, they are being felt, your voices, in both of our hearts. and i want you to know how much we appreciate all that you've done, all the doors you've knocked on, all the phone calls you've made and how many of you voted early. i saw the hands that went up when i asked. that's very good. an some of you have put signs in your yard. some of you have put signs in your neighbor's yard. and i know how many as well have talked to co-workers and tried to convince people to vote for paul ryan and me. look, we have one job left and that's to make sure on election day we get -- make certain that everybody who's qualified to vote gets out to vote.

we need every single vote in florida. now, what makes this rally and your work so inspiring is that you're here because you care about america. this is -- this is a campaign about america. and about the future we're going to leave our children. we thank you. we ask you to stay at it all the way, all the way to victory on tuesday night. tomorrow we begin a new tomorrow. tomorrow we begin a better tomorrow. this nation is going to begin to change for the better tomorrow. your work is making a difference, the people of the world are watching, the people of america are watching. we can begin a better tomorrow tomorrow. and with the help of the people in florida, that's exactly what's going to happen. [ cheers and applause ]

now, there may be some of your friends and family members who haven't made up their mind yet who they're going to vote for. so i'd ask them to look beyond the speeches and beyond the attacks and even beyond all the ads. look to the record. you see, talk is cheap. but a record, that's real. and it's earned with real effort. and some -- i mean, the president promised a lot of change. but change can't be measured in speeches. it has to be measured in achievements. and four years ago, candidate obama promised to do, oh, so very much. but he's fallen, oh, so very short. i mean, you know some of these things. he said he'd be a post partisan president. but he's been most partisan. attacking, dividing, blaming. it's not only republicans he's refused to listen to. he's also refused to listen to independent voices. he was going to focus on

creating jobs. instead he focused on obama care and that killed job. he was going to cut the federal deficit in half, instead he doubled it. he said that by now unemployment would be at 5.2%. and last friday we learned that it's 7.9%. now, that's -- that's 9 million jobs short of what he promised. unemployment today is higher than when barack obama was elected president. think of that. he promised that he would propose a plan to save social security and medicare. he didn't. never even proposed a plan. instead, he took $716 billion out of medicare and used it to pay for obama care. though we didn't want it. he also said he would lower the health insurance premiums of the average family in america. this year we'd be down $2,500 a year. anybody see that yet?

actually, they're up $3,000 a year. think what impact that has on a middle income family in america. and, of course, the average american family now pays about $2,000 a year or more for gasoline than they did when the president was elected. one more thing, let me mention. he said he would reach across the aisle on the most important issues that the country faced. to you realize he has not met on the economy or on the budget sequestration or on jobs with either the republican leader of the house or the republican leader of the senate since july? that is not working across the aisle. that's not bridging the divide. it's making the divide wider. so now we've had a lot of debates in this country. and not as republican or as democrats, but as americans that look at the issues that are before them. and you've watched what's happened in the country over the last four years with an independent voice. you hope that president obama would live up to his promise to

bring people together and to solve problems. he hasn't. i will. [ cheers and applause ] >> and you know why he fell so short. you know why he fell so sort of what he promised. he cared more -- he cared more about a liberal agenda than about repairing the economy. did obama care create new jobs? did his war on coal and gas and oil put new jobs in the marketplace? did the dodd/frank regulations help banks make more loans to people? does raising taxes create more jobs? does an avalanche of new regulations help small business build new jobs? you passed the test.

look, i'm happy to sit down and dis cuss this with anybody who's like to. but almost every measure the president took made it harder for the economy to recover. and it hurt our fellow americans. and we're not just talking about a handful of people. we're talking 23 million americans are struggling to find a good job. one in six americans are poor. and the middle class, even those that have jobs, the middle class is being squeezed with lower incomes every year and higher prices for everything from health insurance to gasoline and electricity bills. it's been tough for middle income americans, even those that are employed. this weekend i spoke with a wife of a 60-year-old man. he's worked as a welder for 40 years. but he just got laid off. and she said, what's he going to do?

she asked what i could do to help him. she made it very clear. they're not looking for a government check. he wants a job. the president thinks -- the president thinks more government is the answer. no, mr. president. more jobs. that's the answer for america! [ cheers and applause ] i mean, the question of this election, the question of this election really comes down to this. do the people of america want four more years like the last four years or -- or do you want real change finally? [ chanting ] now, i think you know that the president promised change, but

he couldn't deliver change. i not only promised change, i have a record of achieving it. i actually -- i actually built a business. i helped turn around another business. i helped get the olympics back on track. and then with a democrat legislature, 85% democrat, i helped turn my state from deficit to surplus. from job losses to job growth. and from lower take home pay to higher take home pay. that's why i'm running for president. i know how to change the course the nation is on. i know how to get us to a balanced budget and how to build jobs and make rising take home pay happen again. see, accomplishing real change is not just something i talk about. it is something i have done and it is something i will do as the president of the united states. [ cheers and applause ]

[ chanting ] if you believe we can do better. if you believe america should be on a better course. if you're tired of being tired, then i ask you to vote for real change. paul ryan and i will bring real change to america from day one. when i'm elected, of course, the economy and the american job market will continue to be stagnant. but i won't waste any time complaining about my predecessor. and i won't spend my effort trying to pass partisan legislation unrelated to jobs and growth. from day one i'm going to go to

work to help americans get back to work. and, you know, people all over the country are responding to paul ryan and my five part plan to create more jobs and rising take home pay. part one of that is taking full advantages of our energy resources, our oil, our coal, our gas, our nuclear, renewable. on day one, on day one i'll act to increase the number of leases and permits to drill on federal lands. and i'll act to speed the approval of the keystone pipeline from canada. number two, i will move to boost trade, particularly with latin america. it's an enormous opportunity for us. we need to take advantage of it. and i will finally designate china as a currency manipulator. we all have to play by the same rules. now, third, i'm going to send to

congress a retraining reform act to make sure every worker can get the skills they need for a good job. and number four, i'm going to tackle out of control spending. i'm going to send congress the first of several fundamental reforms. this first one will be called the down payment on fiscal sanity act. and it is going to do something that's been spoken of but never done. and that is we're not just going to slow down the rate of federal spending, we're actually going to cut federal spending and get ourselves on track to a balanced budget. i'm not -- i'm not just going to take office on january 20th. i'm going to take responsibility for that office as well. [ chanting ] number five, i'm going to act to

boom small business. all business, by the way. i'm going to enact executive orders for straightening problems holding the economy back. the first is going to grant waivers from obama care to help begin its repeal. the second will launch a sweeping review of all obama era regulations with an eye to eliminating or repairing those that are killing jobs. and, by the way, for the first time, for the first time in four years, every entrepreneur, every small business person, every job creator, is going to know that the president of the united states and our government likes them and likes the jobs they help bring to americans. see, paul ryan and i believe in limiting government instead of limiting the dreams of our fellow americans.

now, our choice tomorrow is going to lead to one of two very different outcomes. and people across the country, i think, have the information they need to know where those outcomes would be. they could judge what kind of america we'll have based upon who they vote for. if, for instance, they were able to re-elect president obama, he will still be unable to work with congress and the people there. because he's ignored them in the past. he's attacked them. he's blamed them. the debt ceiling that comes up from time to time is going to come up again. there'll be threats of shutdown and default and, of course, that scares the heck out of the economy. freezes job growth. i think the president was right the other day when he said he can't change washington from the inside, only from the outside. we're going to give him that chance. [ cheers and applause ] that's his way. my way is quite different.

when i'm elected, i'm going to work with republicans and democrats in congress. i'm going to meet regularly with leaders in both parties. and i'm going to endeavor to find good men and good women on both sides of the aisle that care more about the country than they do about politics. and they're there, and we can make that happen. now, there's no question but you know that regardless of what he says, if the president gets re-elected, he's going to continue his war on coal and oil and natural gas. i have a very different path. when i'm elected, we're going to change course on energy to build jobs, to help put the price at the pump. we're going to achieve north american energy independence in eight years. if the president were to be re-elected, i'm convinced he will continue to crush small business with his plan to raise taxes on them. to force employees to join

unions whether they want to or not. to expand regulations. and to impose obama care. which also kills jobs. i care about small business. i see it as a means for a people to fulfill their dreams. last week i met a woman in richmond, virginia, named rhoda elliott. she's been running her family restaurant for a number of years. bill's barbecue. a business that's been in her family for some 82 years. at the high point, she had 200 employees. she just closed it down. and she told me that it was the obama era taxes and regulation, obama care and the obama era economy that put her out of business. and she teared up as she was talking about it. this wasn't about money. this was about the future for her family. and the future for the families of the employees that worked there. i want to help the hundreds of thousands of dreamers like rhoda

and i will. [ cheers and applause ] [ chanting ] you know, if the president were to be re-elected, he's going to say he's going to improve our schools. but he'll do what his largest campaign supporters, the public sector unions, insist on. and your kids will have the same schools with the same results. when i'm president, having learned lessons from jeb bush and the experience of florida, i'm going to be the voice of the children and the parents across the nation because there's no union for the pta. i want to make sure the kids of the nation get what your kids here get. i want to make sure they receive the information about the school

their kids are going to, to know whether it's exceeding or failing. and i want every child to have the choice they need to pick the school where their child can succeed. now, i'm proud of the fact that in my state, we took our schools to the top of the nation. number one of all 50 states. but we did that by working together. republicans and democrats. by listening to the good advice of our best teachers who've dedicated their lives to helping others. listening to parents and always putting the students and their education first. and i'll do the same thing as president. now, these last -- these last few months of the campaign, you've noted that we've gathered strength. it's become a movement across the country. [ cheers and applause ] you see it not just in the size of the crowds that gather and the energy and passion, but also in the shared conviction we

have. it's made me strive even more to be worthy of your support. and to campaign as i was governed. to speak for the aspirations of all americans. i learned th eed as the governo massachusetts that the best achievements are shared achievements. i learned that respect and goodwill go a long way and are usually returned in kind. that's how i'll conduct myself as your president. i'll bring people together. i won't just represent one party. i'll represent one nation. [ cheers and applause ] throughout the campaign, using every argument he can think of, president obama has tried to convince you that the last four years have been a success. and so his plan for the next four years is take all the ideas from his first four years. you know, the stimulus, the tax increase, the borrowing, obama care, and do them all over

again. he calls this plan forward. i call it forewarned. that same path means $20 trillion in debt. it means continuing crippling unemployment. it means depressed home values. stagnant take home pay. and a devastated military. unless we change course, we may be looking at another recession as well. and in his closing argument, did you hear this just the other day? president obama asked his supporters to vote for revenge. for revenge. instead i ask the american people to vote for love of country. [ cheers and applause ]

[ chanting ] >> all right. we're going to break away from this. you hear mitt romney. he looks kind of tired as does president obama. it's been a long road for both the men. you hear mitt romney say he's ready to begin a better tomorrow tomorrow. we'll parse his speech, talk more politics and also talk about voter anger in florida when we come back.

we'rwith questions fromtump sombing elections.kies do you know where your polling place is? maybe somewhere around my house. mine's just, right over that way. well you can find out exactly where it is using bing elections. it's a good day for politics. which way do you lean politically? conservative. republican. well, using the bing news selector you can find news from whichever way you lean. (together) social on this side, financial.

which party is currently predicted to win a majority in the senate? the republicans? would you make a bet on that? no. are you chicken?

long lines, chaos and confusion are leaving many early voters in florida quite angry. people were in line for up to four hours on saturday just trying to cast a ballot. and if that wasn't frustrating enough, governor rick scott refused to extend voting hours, promising state democrats to, yes, file a lawsuit. if that didn't catch your attention, maybe this will. more chaos erupted when people trying to cast absentee ballots

were locked out of my wriami-da election headquarters after too many people showed up. >> i've been waiting here since 12:30 to pick up an absentee ballot. now they're telling us we've got to go home. that's just ridiculous. >> let us vote! >> at least he kept it classy and said ridiculous. a lot of people were saying much more nasty things. about an hour later miami-dade officials reopened the doors causing more confusion. at least a couple more people got to file those absentee ballots. john zarrella live in my wriami us this morning, what's the deal in florida? >> reporter: it is florida, right, carol? i think that what you have to do is take a look at where this all started. four years ago early voting lasted 14 days. the state legislature changed that down to eight days this year. there were repeated efforts by the league of women voters, democratic senator bill nelson and others to get governor rick scott to extend early voting

past saturday. he would not do that. you had the chaos. you had the long lines for early voting. early sunday morning, the democratic party filed that suit saying that people were not given a meaningful opportunity to go to the polls. they attached affidavits from people who attempted to vote and waited in long lines. for instance, here's one. i came to the coral reef library at 11:45 a.m. to early vote. i had to wait six hours to vote. here's another one. i spent four hours in line waiting to vote. i tried five times over the last three days to find a lull. no luck. so that was part of the lawsuit. what miami-dade county did yesterday and palm beach county was say, okay. you can come to our offices and pick up an absentee ballot and file that absentee ballot. problem in miami-dade was, when that word got out they were overwhelmed. they had printer problems. only one machine working.

they did as you mentioned close the office, then reopen it. it is open again today for -- for this absentee ballot returning. and we understand that the lines are very, very long again this morning. carol? >> okay. so what is governor scott saying? any sightings of governor scott at any of these long lines, you know, consoling people, saying it's going to be okay? >> reporter: well, he said thursday, he said that he thought everything with early voting was going just fine. that was thursday. and that he hoped that everyone would have an opportunity to vote. but since that statement thursday, we have not heard anything from rick scott. and, you know, the clock is obviously ticking now. and it's going to be very, very difficult for anyone to do anything in advance now of tomorrow's actual election day voting. other than what miami-dade and palm beach counties are doing to actually allow people to show up at the supervisor's office, pick up an absentee ballot and file

it right there. but, again, the lines are long. >> shouldn't it be easy to vote in america? maybe i'm just kind of crazy, i don't know. john zarrella reporting live for us from florida this morning. remember chris christie's praise of president obama and how he handled disaster relief after superstorm sandy? mitt romney, he finally commented on that. we'll tell you what he had to say. you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you, around the country, around the corner.

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35 minutes past the hour. it is the last day of campaigning for president obama as he tries to hold on to his job. one challenge remains, though. trying to get more white americans, particularly men, to turn out to vote for him. a new cnn/orc poll released last night shows only 40% of white likely voters support the president compared to 57% for mitt romney. it's a challenge not lost on comedian chris rock. listen to this appeal he made to white voters on abc's "jimmy kimmel live." >> hi, i'm chris rock with a special message for white people. in times like these, you need a

white president you can trust. that white president's name is barack obama. let's take a look at the facts. for the first two-thirds of his life, barack obama was known as barry. which is the third whitest name on earth. right after cody and jeff. these are the white people who raised barry. madeleine and stanley dunham. they're so white they have to wear sunglasses because they're hurting each other's eyes. at the college barry -- >> that's pretty funny. but telling. i'm joined now by one of the president's surrogates, atlanta may may mayor kasim reed. has president obama sort of given up on white men at this point? >> no. the president's not giving up on anyone. let's be real clear. bill clinton didn't win white men. this isn't new for democrats. in democrats has won the majority of the white bone since lyndon baines johnson.

this has been an issue for the party. fortunately we have a broad tent and people are coming to the president's side. so he definitely does not give up. he never takes a single vote for granted. and that's why he's out working so hard right now. >> a lot of analysts say the election will come down to single white women. and president obama does much better with single women than he does with white men. why is that? >> well, because he speaks to their issues and their values. the first bill that he signed was the lilly ledbetter equal pay bill. this was very important. i believe the health care legislation, the american affordable care act, was essential. all of these are areas that women care about. certainly their reproductive pre dom and the right to have a relationship with their own doctor where they make their own decisions about their health. these are issues where the president has stood again and again and again on the side of women. so women are doing what intelligent people do. they vote with people who care

about their interests. when you contrast that to governor romney, he stands shoulder to shoulder with a person like senator murdoch who makes awful, unacceptable comments about women. he hasn't sided with women on one single issue. when you go and talk to mitt romney, he won't even answer the question about whether he believes in equal pay for women or whether he would sign the lilly ledbetter act. that's why women are siding with the president. they're just voting their values and they're voting their issues. i want to challenge you on that. >> i think, though, mayor, one of the overriding issues for all voters is the economy. remains the economy. and also this huge debt the country is carrying right now. and many analysts say that's why mitt romney's message is resonating. that's why the election is so close. virtually tied right now. >> well, it's virtually tied nationally. but i don't hear many analysts denying that the president is in the strongest position to be re-elected. the bottom line is this election

is going to be decided in the electoral college. and the president's going to win. he has an advantage that mitt romney can't make up right now. so i don't know what analysts you're referring to, but i refer to the analysts that show that the president is winning in almost every battleground state. that's a day before the election. and he's going to get 270 electoral votes. so they can raise these issues because the only thing that they have right now, carol, is a confidence game. they have to go out and act like they feel good and that they feel confident. when you go to the battlegrounds which is where this election is going to be decided, the president is winning. you can argue about the margin in almost every single battleground. >> okay. >> no sane or normal person would want to be mitt romney today. >> i don't know if many republicans would agree with you there. >> we'll see if they agree with me tomorrow, though. >> we'll see. tomorrow will be a telling answer. maybe. that's my last question to you. will the election be decided tomorrow?

florida, voting is kind of chaotic there already. in ohio they're thinking maybe with these provisional ballots they're going to have a lot of them. they may have to count them. you can't count provisional ballots until ten days past the election. maybe the election won't be decided tomorrow. what do you say? >> i feel very strongly that the election's going to be decided tomorrow in a comfortable fashion. i was actually in florida yesterday. i think the president's going to win there, too. you might remember, carol. you and i sat a day or two before the supreme court decision when i said that the court was going to affirm the affordable health care act. now i'm telling you that we're going to win on tomorrow in a comfortable fashion with the president of the united states being re-elected and securing 270 electoral votes. which is the whole show on tomorrow. >> mayor reed, thank you so much for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. next, the other side of the argument. i'll talk with the spokesperson for the republican national committee. we'll be right back. there he is.

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it's a cynical view, but

what in politics isn't today? superstorm sandy and the government's response might hand president obama a second term. those pictures of the president working alongside a political enemy and romney supporter were inescapable, even on "saturday night live." >> also i would like to give a sincere thanks to president obama for how he handled the situation. on election day, i'm voting for mitt romney, but if i had to pick one guy to have my back in a crisis, it would be barack obama. he's been amazing. you know, so kind. such a leader. a true inspiration. again, i'll be a good soldier. i'll vote for romney. but i'm going to hate it. do you hear me? i will hate it. >> some conservatives are not so happy with christie. but mitt romney in pennsylvania finally reached out. >> thanks, also, to the governors that are dealing with this tragedy, particularly i think about the governor of new jersey, governor christie. he's doing a -- he's giving it

all of his heart and his passion to help the people of his state. they're in a hard way, and we appreciate his hard work. >> with me now, shawn spicer, communications director at the republican national committee. welcome, shawn. >> good morning, carol. >> i noticed governor romney did not mention president obama along with christie in praising relief efforts. dare i ask you why leave obama out? >> he was talking about gove-- governor christie's a surrogate of his. look, governor christie is doing a great job leading the state of new jersey during a crisis. but what he's also showing is not only the leadership in his state, but that he'll work with whoever is willing to lend him a hand to help the people of new jersey. and the same reason that governor christie is supporting mitt romney is because mitt romney's got a track record of reaching across the aisle to get things done. when he was in massachusetts as governor, he had a legislator

that was 85% democrat. he reached across the aisle, worked with other people to get things done and turn his state around. that's the kind of president that mitt romney's going to be, that says, hey, whether you're a democrat or republican, you want to fix the problems that this country faces, i'll work with you to get it done. >> you know, that's been a campaign theme recently for governor romney. he accuses president obama of not being able to reach across the aisle. but in new jersey, it sort of looks that way. >> well, i think the president here, the final end of his campaign after four years, is reaching out in particular to governor christie. but for four years that hasn't been the case. it's been since july that he's had a meeting with either the republican leader of the senate or the leader of the house. he didn't want to deal with anyone when it came to obama care. so there is no track record of him reaching across the aisle to get things done. conversely, with governor romney, his whole life has been about reaching across and

partnering with folks to get the job done whether in the private sector or his time as governor. so there is a difference in terms of both of their track record as far as who actually is willing to sit down with people from all sides to get the -- put solutions in place to tackle problems. >> if you look at the national polls, the race is essentially tied. but, of course, only the swing states matter. does the response to sandy really matter in ohio or virginia or florida? >> well, i think the race is going to come down to what i call the three is. intensity, independence and issues. on intensity, our base is extremely enthusiastic and much more so than the democrats. when you talk about -- when you look at the polling and find out who has more intensity going out to vote, knocking on doors. two, on independents. every one of those polls that has come out nationally or even privately shows governor romney with anywhere from a nine to 20 point lead when it comes to

independen independents. it's the american people giving governor romney the lead when it comes to who's most effective to deal with those tough issues we're voting on. that's what i think people are going to be looking at tomorrow. that's why i think we're going to get put over the top and governor romney's going to have a huge win tomorrow night. >> just on a human level, because you must be exhausted, it's been a long election. how will you feel after tomorrow is over? >> i think both personally and professionally just ecstatic. i think -- you know, i know what a great job governor romney and congressman ryan are going to do for this country. so it's been all worth it in terms of the hours and such. our volunteers have been out there making countless door knocks and phone calls. we have 150,000 volunteers throughout the country that have made 53 million voter contacts as of this week.

it's just amazing to see that. so it actually will just be exciting when we go over 270 and continue on forward. whether it's up to 300, who knows. but i think it's going to feel great. >> all right. sean spicer, thank you so much for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. if you have not voted in iowa, the state gives you two options. wait in line today or wait in line tomorrow. we'll take you to iowa for early voting, next.

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[ female announcer ] crestor is not right for everyone. like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. tell your doctor about other medicines you're taking. call your doctor right away if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired, have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of rare but serious side effects. ♪ is your cholesterol at goal? talk to your doctor about crestor. [ female announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. today, obviously, is the last day to vote early. in iowa, polling locations are expecting big crowds today as well as tomorrow. cnn's poppy harlow is at a polling center in des moines. i hope it's going better than it has in florida. >> reporter: it's going a lot better, carol. you can see this morning the line is already starting. they had 1,200 people vote here

on saturday, i'm told. but not four and five-hour lines. a lot more places open here. the early vote is critical in this critical battleground state. they say that there is a record number of early votes this year in this election. about 40% of the people that vote will have voted early. so both campaigns are trying so hard to get the ground game out. now, when you look at the numbers as of friday, the registered democrats have a little bit of a lead, about 63,000 more early votes in than the republicans do. but we're told that lead is much more narrow than it has been in past elections. i want you to take a listen to two early voters we talked to this morning. the president won here by nearly ten points in 2008. the romney camp says, we've stepped up our ground game from what mccain had here four years ago. can you feel that? >> i do. i actually voted for barack obama last time. and really feel mitt romney's

presence this time around. >> reporter: is there as much enthusiasm for the president as there was here in 2008 when he was running? >> certainly not. i would say that people definitely have a little bit more grounding in reality that th time. there was a lot of being carried away with the enthusiasm of voting for the first black president. >> oh, but not so much this time. poppy, you said campaigns are pulling out all the stops. give us some examples. >> reporter: they are. so today, later this afternoon, we're going to head to a paul ryan event that's going to be held at the des moines airport. he's coming, the campaign tells me, to really lay into the crowd here and the supporters here in iowa, get out the vote. it will be the romney campaign's final presence here in iowa. then tonight, right downtown here in des moines, bruce

springstesprin springsteen is going to open up for the president. president obama will be here around 10:30 p.m. eastern time. you have both campaigns, big presence here in iowa. only six electoral votes. but you need every single one. "the des moines register" came out with their final poll on saturday with the president leading but only by five points, carol. >> i'm thinking paul ryan needs kid rock. >> reporter: that's true. i think romney has kid rock later in new hampshire, right, carol? >> i think you're right. poppy harlow live in des moines, iowa, this morning. washington football fans who are republicans may not be so sad their team lost on sunday. we'll explain the redskin rule. it's a new day. if you're a man with low testosterone,

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you've seen the polls, the electoral college maps and heard all the stump speeches. but it could be a couple of sporting events that have already decided the election,

really. republicans swear by the redskins rule. when washington loses, the challenger wins. and the redskins lost to carolina yesterday. since 1940, the outcome of washington redskins' last home game before the election has correctly predicted the outcome of the presidential race 17 out of 18 times. but democrats can rally around this stat. the san francisco giants won the world series, two-thirds of the time a national league team has won the fall classic, the democrats have won the white house. we'll leave you to figure it out. the next hour of "cnn newsroom" begins after a quick break. charlie rose: will you endorse president obama?

colin powell: yes. when he took over we were in one of the... worst recessions we had seen in recent times... close to a depression. and i saw, over the next several years, stabilization... come back in the financial community. housing is starting to pick up. the president saved the auto industry. and the actions he's taken with respect to... protecting us from terrorism have been very, very solid. and so, i think we ought to keep on the track that we are on. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. stories we're watching in the "newsroom." closing arguments, the last full day of campaigning for mitt romney and barack obama as they sprint across the country one more time.

tomorrow, thousands will be out in force, watching you as you vote. but in this election, could the poll watchers be the ones picking sides? balance of power, democrats want the house and republicans are gunning for the senate. but will either side accomplish their goal? and gas prices keep falling to levels not seen since a month after the last election. why? "newsroom" starts now. good morning. thank you so much for joining us. i'm carol costello. counting down and knotted up. just hours before americans head to the polls, the slightest ripple could decide a presidential race too close to call. according to our new cnn/orc poll, barack obama and mitt romney are tied at 49% among likely voters. and today that has both men racing across key battleground states. just last hour, we carried romney's speech at a florida rally. next hour, we'll hear from obama. he's in wisconsin. as you can see in red, romney

now travels on to virginia, ohio and new hampshire. president obama in blue goes from wisconsin to all-important ohio and finally to iowa. but let's begin with the obama camp. white house correspondent dan lothian is at the president's first stop in madison, wisconsin. dan, we're going to ask you this morning to read the tea leaves. two reasons for confidence in each camp and one reason for doubt. so, obama's number one reason for confidence is the ground game. and another reason, many say he has a better message for the middle class. expound. >> reporter: that's right. when it comes to the ground game, the campaign has a lot of infrastructure that was put in place during the 2008 campaign. much of that was still there. so they were not starting from ground zero. in addition to that, they set up a hub of volunteer, thousands of volunteers in these key battleground states that have been able to get people registered to vote, encourage them to get out and vote early. and then finally, the campaign has been touting this number of

making one-on-one contact with voters, 125 million voters over the course of the campaign. so they believe their ground game has been effective and will pay off on election day, carol. >> dan lothian reporting live for us this morning. now let's focus ant romney campaign. cnn national political correspondent jim acosta is on the road with the republican nominee. >> reporter: hi, carol. that's right. i talked to a senior romney adviser earlier this morning and they say their message today is going to be focused on those last few undecideds. that's where that ground operation comes into play. they know they have to outperform these recent battleground state polls across a number of swing states showing the gop nominee is trailing the president in places like virginia, in places like new hampshire. one came out in iowa yesterday. i was talking to the finance chair for this campaign over the weekend. i said, why are we still seeing the fund-raising appeals from the gop nominee going out to supporters and this is where the

ground game is crucial? he said a lot of that money is going to vans to round up voters and supporters and get them to the polls and to make sure that volunteers are getting out in the neighborhoods, canvassing areas where they know they are strong and making sure that every door is knocked on to make sure every possible voter that might be leaning towards mitt romney can get to their voting place and cast a ballot for this gop nominee. they have to prove the pollsters wrong and that means getting out the vote. >> jim acosta reporting live for us from florida. tempers reached epic proportions during early voting. people waited in line for hours, talking up to four hours, just to cast a ballot. state democrats filed the first of what could be many lawsuits in florida after governor scott refused to extend early voting hours this weekend. we'll keep you posted. with new jersey residents still suffering from the aftermath of superstorm sandy,

governor chris christie wants to make sure his state's voters have their voices heard. christie's ordered election officials to allow displaced voters to cast ballots electronically. here's how it will work. new jersey voters can submit a mail-in ballot application via e-mail or fax. after officials have proved that application, they will send the voter an electronic ballot that can be e-mailed or faxed back. cnn's jim clancy is in bel mar, new jersey. residents there have a lot to worry about. i guess the big question this morning is, will they even bother to vote even though new jersey's tried to make it easier for them? >> reporter: i think they will bother to vote but it's very complicated, carol. after all, we're in a town that doesn't have any electricity. but let's talk to the mayor, matt dougherty. matt, the possibility of e-mail voting is there. what impact will it have? >> we're not sure. we did have a lot of families evacuate.

if they're in a place outside of belmartha does have power, they may have that opportunity to vote. but in town, we're small enough that everyone can walk to the polling place if need be. >> reporter: there's no power, though. >> we have an emergency generator at our town hall. the way we're going to deal with it is bring everyone together into one place. >> reporter: this will be an experiment, electronic voting in this manner, maybe something good that comes out of the storm, you have local elections here as well. do you think people are still in a mood to cast a ballot? >> that's a great question. i think in a presidential election, you'll see high turnout, even with the devastation you see around us. i think people are still interested. we have local elections, county, state, everything. i think you'll see a decent turnout this year. the storm not deterring people. >> reporter: i was down at the

pumps a little bit earlier. i think we have video of that we can share with our viewers. they are pumping out tens upon tens of gallons a minute. and the lake's come way down. it really flooded your downtown area. >> yeah. we're going to continue pumping that. the weather forecast is for a nor'easter in the middle of the week. right now, the water table is so high that if we get one inch of water, our basements are going to flood again. we're going to drain the lakes and draw that water back into the lakes in preparation of the storm coming this week. >> reporter: there you have it, carol. lots of work to be done, they're all it in belmar. >> jim, thanks so much. cnn's coverage of the election begins tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. eastern. hope you'll join us. let's talk gas prices now because they've been on voters' minds for quite a long time.

when are gas prices going to go down? the answer might be right now. alison kosik joins us from the new york stock exchange. really? >> reporter: really, just in time for election day, too. and this is actually working out to be the biggest two-week drop for gas prices since 2008. the latest lundberg survey says the national average fell by more than 20 cents a gallon from october 19th to november 2nd. aaa reporting today as well a national average of $3.47. it's only been a month ago that it was $3.81 is a gallon, that's a 9% drop in price. and it's a trend that could continue. the lundberg survey predicts prices could fall another 10 to 20 cent a gallon. and we could see some prices fall below $3 a gallon before the end of the year, better than even the most optimistic forecast we were talking about a few weeks ago. >> so there's a gas shortage in new york and new jersey. what impact will sandy have on

gas prices? >> reporter: not necessarily a shortage. what analysts are saying is that sandy could actually bring down prices. that's because, as i said, there was no shortage of gasoline. the gas prices we're having here in the new york area are happening because gas stations, they don't still have electricity to pump the gas into the cars. of course, there's also this general panic these setting in that set in over the weekend that's causing those long lines. analysts said that social media may have amplified the panic we're seeing, causing the equivalent of flash mobs to form at gas stations. but the real effect of sandy on gas prices is that the storm forced a drop in demand which could cause prices to go down across the country. but the long lines, we're being told, those are not baath because there's a shortage of gas. >> alison kosik reporting live from the new york stock exchange. making a case for why president obama deserves to be reelected and why a romney win could erode the civil rights gains of the last century. going to talk with the reverend

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president obama needs african-americans to vote in large numbers to win. they came through for him in 2008. but today, some might not be so eager to head to the polls. if they don't, in civil rights leader jesse jackson's mind, that could take them back to 1875, the end of the civil war. jesse jackson joins us now from cleveland. welcome. >> welcome to you. i see longer lines than 2008. we were in cincinnati yesterday, six-block lines, it was open

from 1:00 to 10:00. once you're in line, they can't close the polls until you leave the lines. we've seen longer, stronger, more determined voters. >> let's talk about voter enthusiasm. it's nice to see so many people out early voting. but when you talk to some african-americans, they say, hey, we gave barack obama is chance in 2008. but my life has not changed. it's the same. in fact, in many cases, my life is worse. so, i don't know, are we really seeing that much enthusiasm at the polls? >> three things are happening for them. number one, the voter suppression have become the voter stimulus. the roll purging tends to make it more difficult, aroused people who would not have been aroused. number two, the attacks on him, you retard, you're not a christian, not an american, those ri tacks have become very personal to people. they feel those were attacks upon them. the third thing is people are getting better for people.

we've had 5 million jobs in contrast to having lost 4 million. more americans are insured today than four years ago. there is a sense -- there's an up feeling here in these lines. >> you wrote an op ed for "the guardian," that reads, quote, there are attempts to take the civil rights victories back. our opponents are fighting the civil war of 1865. if romney wins and puts right wingers on the supreme court, the courts could rule to undermine the entire movement made by dr. king. seriously? the entire movement? >> well, the attack on voting access is fundamental. america is a before-and-after 1965. and it's before and after 1865. so the attack on the acts of the voting is fundamental. secondly, the attacks of workers' right to -- the attack on women's rights -- the attack

upon civil rights and social justice, that is a red call setback -- i think that one thing that mr. romney's done is he's pushed off a whole body of people he never sought to include. he's campaigning in south carolina. did not reach out at all, for example. no reach-out. seemingly no sensitivity to civil rights. >> romney spoke to the naacp. he says he tried to reach out. >> well, that was a gesture. if i were running in south carolina, i would reach out to michael steele, who was former chair of the rnc. he did not. reach out to collko coal colin .

even george bush reached out to latinos and put one on his cabinet. >> let me turn the question the other way. white men aren't exactly flocking to barack obama. why do you think that is? >> repeat that, please. >> white men, they're not flocking to president obama. why do you think that is? >> well, i know a number of them are because four years ago, with the global banks collapse, that's been resuscitated. when i think about more americans have health insurance who didn't have it, benefited everybody. more men, white, block and brown, home from iraq, benefited everybody. i do not know why some are not voting for him -- here in ohio, the auto industry is working three shifts now. those workers working now matter. >> reverend jesse jackson, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

i know it's cold in cleveland this morning. we appreciate you taking the time. >> indeed. the election so tight, a couple of thousand votes could determine who wins the white house. many people have already voted. but come tomorrow, we could still see some very long lines. and, yes, the possibility of voter irregularities. [ woman ] it's 32 minutes to go time, and the candidate's speech is in pieces all over the district. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there. [ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... working together has never worked so well.

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now's your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the today. the question this morning, election 2012, defining moment? time for a game of changing october surprise is over, if there ever was one. seems like we've been talking about defining moments since the beginning of time. the latest and perhaps the last, the bromance between president obama and governor chris christie. "snl's" pictures are so much more fun. >> i would like to give a sincere thanks to president obama for how he handled the situation. on election day, i'm voting for mitt romney. but if i had to pick one guy to have my back in a crisis, it would be barack obama.

he's been amazing. so kind, such a leader, a true inspiration. again, i'll be a good soldier and vote for romney but i'm going to hate it! >> other defining moments? mitt romney's stellar first debate. >> and what we're seeing right now is, in my view, a trickle-down government approach which has government thinking it can do a better job than free people pursuing their dreams. and it's not working. >> defining moments the candidates would like to take back. barack obama's famous "but didn't build that" and mitt romney's 47% moocher remark. and how about mitt romney's assertion that russia was our number one geopolitical enemy? it's all water under the bridge now. i do wonder, though, did any defining moment really change your mind or was your mind made up on day one? talk back today.

election 2012, what was your defining moment? facebook.com/carolcnn. your responses later this hour. a presidential election too close to call, a battleground state mired in voting problems and controversy. sound familiar? sure does in florida. those haunting memories of of that 2000 debacle are still painfully fresh and now a new crop of concerns are hanging over the elections there. ali velshi is keeping a close eye on the problems. he joins us from cnn's vote watch desk. it was ugly this weekend in florida. >> can you imagine that we're having this conversation about voting problems in florida? i guess it wouldn't be a batt battle -- without a battle in florida. one of third of the state's registered democrats do their voting in three counties. this is what the early voting lines looked like in miami yesterday.

>> i've been waiting here since 12:30 to pick up an absentee ballot. now they're telling us we have to go home. that's just ridiculous. >> we heard reports of wait times from 45 minutes to seven hours. talk about committed voters. this all started on saturday. the scene had some folks walking away, the democrats are lawyering up pushing to have extended voting extended in some democratic strongholds. people are lining up again today. why the long lines? if you ask democrats, it could have something to do with a new law. last year, the republican governor, rick scott and the republican-held florida legislature, cut the number of early voting days down from 14 to eight. might not think a few hundred votes from people walking away makes a lot of difference but clearly you do because you remember the year 2000. according to the official count, president bush won the 2000 election by 537 hand-counted

votes. that gave him the state of florida. and that's how he won the election. they came from south florida. so every vote really does count. and that florida could once again be the site of a very close election and very ugly legal ballttles is confounding. as of friday afternoon, 44% of eligible voters in florida had already cast their ballots. so roughly we can guess that more than half of floridians have already cast their ballots. i'll be monitoring the vote desk. you can tweet us, @votewatch. e-mail us or text us. i'll be available to send all that information out. if you follow me on @alivelshi, i'll follow up. they're going on in other states, too. >> they are. ali velshi, many thanks. we'll talk more about this in the hours to come. the presidential election, time is running short.

lines are running long, at least in one state, all too famous for voting problems. why does this keep happening in america? shouldn't it be a cinch to vote? it's our constitutional right. we'll talk about that next. the wheels of progress. seems they haven't been moving much lately. but things are starting to turn around because of business people like you. and regions is here to help. with the experience and service to keep things rolling.

from business loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward. so switch to regions. and let's get going. together. we'rwith questions fromtump sombing elections.kies do you know where your polling place is? maybe somewhere around my house. mine's just, right over that way. well you can find out exactly where it is using bing elections. it's a good day for politics. which way do you lean politically? conservative. republican. well, using the bing news selector you can find news from whichever way you lean. (together) social on this side, financial. which party is currently predicted to win a majority in the senate? the republicans? would you make a bet on that? no. are you chicken?

good morning. welcome to the "newsroom." i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining us. it's just about 30 minutes past the hour. let's check our top stories. the term fiscal cliff has been used a lot this year. now the speaker of the house thinks we might be able to avoid it. congressman john boehner says there is a possibility congress could approve a temporary fix to postpone the spending cuts set to begin in 2013. but he says that temporary fix could be a tough vote to get through. the nfl's lone unbeaten team stays absolutely perfect. how about those atlanta falcons? they rallied to defeat the dallas cowboys sunday.

michael turner's late touchdown run and four field goals by matt bryant. the falcons are now 8-0. and on the final full day of campaigning, the race for president could not be any closer. it is what you call a dead heat. a new cnn/orc poll shows president obama and governor romney getting 49% each. both candidates have a busy day on the trail before tomorrow's election. oh, florida, oh, florida, voters found long lines and chaos, especially in the southern part of the state. imagine waiting up to nine hours to vote. nine hours! >> we are up in miami-dade county election department, this is what they're going to us? >> this is what they do in that building. >> exactly. and this is the way they're treating us? we need to vote. we are not in some rural

district waiting on the side of the road. this is the main place. and if we are treated like that here, god help the others. >> this is not cuba. this is not china. we cannot allow this to happen. >> seriously? can't we do better than that or was it on purpose and isn't it sad we're asking these questions in 2012? cnn contributors lz granderson and will cain join us now. welcome, gentlemen. >> good morning, carol. >> good morning, carol. >> up to nine hours to vote. that's just crazy. some might say that's un-american. what do you say to that, lz? >> i say it's going along as planned. this is not news to the officials who implemented these laws, limited the amount of hours which early voting can happen and saw this tidal wave coming with the hopes of what it would do to deter democrats voting for president obama. this was all part of the very diabolical plan.

i'm disturbed and every american should be disturbed by this. >> florida's republican governor did fight to limit early voting and he won. he decreased the number of days. in retrospect, was that wise? >> look, here's the deal. it is unfortunate what's happened in these three or four florida counties, carol. but let me give you a couple of statistics to balance out lz's claims of diabolical. in 2000, 15% of the vote was early voting. in 2008, that was up to 30%. and this year, many are expecting the early voting will make up 40% of the voting electorate. the point is, it is getting easier to vote earlier and that's a good thing. but because we had problems in a couple of counties in florida does not reveal a diabolical scheme. in florida, that's a 12-page voting pamphlet you get on constitutional amendment and the presidential election. should we be surprised that this new process of bigger voter

turnout for early voting is rife with incompetence especially in florida? no, i don't think we should be surprised by that. >> lz, he is right about that. they do have a lot of issues to vote on in florida. it's really hot there. and maybe people's temperatures there were just boiling over. >> my question is, why would you wait until months within this time for the general election to implement any sort of new rules, to implement any sort of new ids to have to be shown, to initiate any sort of ideas that's going to -- from all the information we've gathered, hurt minority voters? i don't understand why you would do that the year of the election. will's right. we've seen this trend. why not begin addressing this in 2007, 2008 or 2009? why did we wait until 2012, a few weeks prior to the election to begin having these discussions and implementing these rules? the timing of it all and

understanding what research has shown who this will impact most is why it's diabolical. >> let's talk about what's happening in new jersey and new york. sandy might force a change in how we vote altogether. many new jersey, they're allowing people to vote via e-mail or fax. why not just move to that? it's 2012, for god's sake, will. >> there is a move to make voting more convenient, to make voting easier. that's reflected in the early voting stats i gave you earlier. and that's reflected in compensating some of these new jersey and new york voters who have been devastated there to make it easier to vote by e-mail. what we need to do, though, when you make it more convenient is you need to make sure the vote is sacrosanct. when you talking about e-mail voting, now you're talking about opening it up to quite obvious easier voter fraud. if we're going to make voting easier, we also need to make it full of more integrity, have more integrity. these efforts should go hand in hand.

convenient voting but real, true voting, free from voter fraud. i think you've seen many, including many on the right, pursue that over several years and be called diabolical for that pursuit. >> but, lz, don't we have the technology? >> listen, there's only so many things in this country that we think it's acceptable to wait in line for for four to five hours. maybe an iphone, maybe concert tickets. the dmv, begrudgingly. there's no reason why we should wait in line four to five hours to vote in 2012. there are a lot of things we need to address in this country when it comes to how we vote. in terms of early voting, in terms of closing hours, in terms of limiting hours. i'm disturbed personally that the romney family owns voting machines. i think that's an issue that needs to be talked about. there are a lot of things going forward that we need to be addressing. and certainly using technology in our voting process, in our

debates, in every step of this way of the election process needs to be implemented. hopefully we'll have that conversation going starting november 7th. >> i hope so. >> one thing that's unacceptable, carol, is when you can't rub salt in wounds, when the falcons beat the cowboys, you don't co-op the cowboys' trademark slogan and say, how about those falcons? that's a huge. >> thanks so much. >> we haven't said, how about them cowboys, in a long, long time? >> sadly true. thanks so much. be sure to watch cnn's live election coverage tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. eastern. sending election observers to polling places. but critics say one group will

do more to suppress the vote than to make sure everything goes smoothly and not fraudulently. we'll talk about that. 100% new. 100% mmm... wow, that is mmm... it's so mmm you might not believe it's a hundred calories. new yoplait greek 100. it is so good.

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with the presidential race so tight in the battleground states, tomorrow's turnout and the integrity of the vote will be crucial. lawyers and poll watchers will be on duty. one tea party-backed group, true the vote, will have volunteers at polling stations. true the vote's president, katherine, joins us from houston. welcome. >> hi, carol. thanks so much for having me. >> we're glad you're here with us. what are your goals tomorrow? >> well, we've worked very hard to encourage citizens to work inside the polls. we've had training all across the country, reminding citizens that it is their obligation to uphold the integrity of the process so that we can all enjoy a free and fair election. >> where will you have the most

observes, which states? >> it's classic. the greatest participation levels are happening in those states that tend to have the most historic problems with fraud. >> such as? >> certainly say ohio, florida, historically close elections. it's very important that the process is observed there. >> so you'll have people -- like what exactly will they be doing? what will they be observing? >> that's a great question. the goal of a poll watcher is simply to watch the process of the election to help protect the rights of the voter. so making sure that check-in is handled correctly, that the votes -- the audit during the day stay even. it's just making sure that the state law is being followed. >> as you well know, civil rights leaders have said your program is more about voter suppression than voter fraud. let's listen to what congressman

elijah cummings said. >> true the vote has consistently challenged the voting rights of legitimate voters. we must address anybody who tries to deny anybody that right to vote. i consider it criminal. i consider it unpatriotic and highly offensive. >> those are really strong words. criminal. what's your reaction to that? >> well, first reaction is that his allegations are absolutely false. but i appreciate you giving me the opportunity to address it because congressman cummings has chosen, despite our repeated attempts to sit down and visit with him, he has chosen to continue to spread misinformation. the fact is i believe he's trying to change the debate. in his own home state of maryland, there was a congressional candidate that just had to withdraw because she admitted having voted twice in the same election in two states. pew research indicate that is there's one in eight of our voter registration records that

are wrong. in the last 18 months, there have been 31 states that have prosecuted vote fraud crimes. and 70% of americans agree that it's time to do something to improve the overall integrity of the process. why? because fraud is real. >> i hear you. but there are other organizations, the brennan center, for one in new york. its mission is to study voter fraud. it says there really isn't such a thing as a huge voter fraud problem in this country. the other thing that's out there that i'd like to ask you about is, there are reports that your organization sent letters to african-american voters just confusing them about whether they're able to vote or not. and you're not really affiliated with a state government, a locality. you're just a watchdog group. so why is it your role to send letters to voters that might confuse them or keep them from the polls? >> true the vote has never sent a letter to a voter. that's the responsibility of the county government.

it's not something we would ever want to be a part of. citizens are there to observe and report. and that's where our responsibility ends. >> so you won't actually be going up to voters and talking with them and telling them -- >> no, absolutely not. a poll watcher does not speak to voters. poll watchers are there to observe the process, to make sure that it's conducted fairly and not to engage with voters in any way. >> catherine, thank you so much for being with us this morning. we appreciate it it. >> thanks. >> tomorrow, it's all over, or is it? one thing is certain, we'll get plenty of laughs thanks to these guys for a long time to come. when you take a closer look... ...at the best schools in the world...

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oh, tomorrow, there's much more at steak than just choosing a president. we could put someone out of work. if the president holds on to his job, this mitt romney impersonator could find himself looking for a new job. if mitt romney finds himself victorious, this barack obama impersonat

impersonator, could be on the unemployment line. jim bachelor and maxwell price join me now. welcome to you both. >> thank you. thank you very having me. >> i want to start with you, jim. when did you first realize you looked like mitt romney? >> a friend from high school found me on facebook and came to las vegas and met with me. and the whole time we were visiting, he said the whole time how much i looked like mitt romney and he said, you should make a video. so we did, put it on the internet and less than a week later, dustin called me and now it looks like i might have a change of a future. >> wow. so maxwell, i'll ask you the same question. when did you realize you looked like barack obama? >> i discovered the look when at the time senator obama was running against hillary in the primaries. and i ran with it as a whole look-alike thing until i found

dustin and got really heavy into the impersonations. >> so if mitt romney wins the election, maxwell, tell jim how his life is likely to change. >> well, for better or for worse, some people call it a blessing. some people call it a curse. but it's the american dream. you have to capitalize on every little opportunity that you're handed down. >> so, jim, you're hearing that, taking his advice and you're thinking what? >> well, i've read stories about how people get discovered, like marilyn monroe or somebody would get discovered in an elevator. the next thing they know, they've become a movie star. i find out my life's taking a new direction now because i look like somebody else. >> so i'm going to ask you one political question. maxwell, just because you look

like barack obama, does that mean you're going to vote for barack obama or would you rather keep that under raps? >> i plead the fifth. >> how about you, jim? >> well, i am partial to romney, not for my own personal benefit, but i'd like to see the country move in a direction where someone who has a lot of fiscal knowledge at that level can take our country back and start getting jobs created and because that's something that will benefit the entire country, regardless of what political affiliation. so i think romney has the resume and the experience. and i think he's a good man. >> do you have as many children as many romney? >> no. i'm still unfortunately living up to my last name. i'm still a bachelor. >> thanks to both of you guys. i sure appreciate it. >> thank you very having us. there are five endangered republican seats in the senate

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the balance of power over

which party controls the house and senate could shift. republicans have the house now but would love to take over the senate. democrats control the senate and would love to take control of the house. but does either side have a chance for a political gain of power? let's ask cnn's senior congressional correspondent dana bash. she's in washington. explain to us how this power could shift. >> reporter: well, let's start with where the senate stands right now. republicans have 47 seats. democrats, if you add the two independents who caucus with them, have 53. republicans need a net gain of four seats to get a clear-cut 51-seat majority. now i want to show you a map of the universe of competitive races. there are a lot. over a dozen where both parties have been spending heavily and candidates are fighting hard. the problem is that republicans aren't just playing offense. they're playing defense on many of their seats. >> and that is a problem for republicans. they're not playing offense to take the senate. they're playing defense. what does this mean?

>> reporter: there are five endangered republicans seats. i want to show our viewers the map. but look up in new england there, sources in the republican party tell us that they're not just endangered, that they believe that they're probably going to lose. talking about massachusetts, senator scott brown. the polls there now are neck and neck. but republicans say they don't think he's going to eke it out. and in maine, that's an open seat vacated by olympia snow. democrats and republicans expect to lose that as well. if you take a look back at the map f you take away those two seats, now you're down to 45. so that means republicans actually have to get six seats in order to take back the majority and go back to the map that has the competitive blue seats. there are eight that we're really watching closely. for republicans to take control, carol, they have to basically almost run the board. they only can lose two of those

in order to take back the senate. and that is not easy at all. not easy at all. before i let you go, i have to show you one thing, carol. you live in virginia, this is what you're getting. this is just mail from the congressional races for two days. and that just shows you what it's like to live in one of those competitive blue states that has a tough senate race. >> yeah, a lot of misery like that together, especially if you live in the swing states or states with really competitive senate and congressional races. thanks so much, dana bash, reporting live for us. defining moment, what was it in 2012 for you? we'll be right back. a restaurant is hard, runng try running four. fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business.

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a majority in the senate? the republicans? would you make a bet on that? no. are you chicken?

talk back question for you today. was there a defining moment in the 2012 election that maybe changed your mind? don says, so many defining moments, so little time. one, the 47% comment, two, the jeep commercial, three,